Marketing Trends from the Digital Frontlines

The web and ways to market on the web continue to evolve at warp speed - we see some positive and negative changes occurring - our observations du jour:

1. Publishers are finally starting to charge for branded content. It's still difficult to do, but we are seeing many newsletter publishers charging from $30-100 per subscriber per annum. And, most importantly, many people are finally starting to accept the need to pay for quality content.

2. Contrary to popular opinion, the web's epicenter is not San Francisco, Tokyo, Washington D.C./northern VA, Seattle, London or Austin. There is no epicenter ... it's everywhere. We now have over 427M (Dataquest & Nua) people using the web and its truly become a global medium/marketing venue/information highway.

3. More good news for e-commerce enabled business models. Recent published reports (Boston Consulting Group & eShop) indicate customer acquisition costs have dropped from $45 per individual customer in Q-4 of 2000 to $18 in Q-1 in 2001.

4. Adobe continues to push PDF format as a web standard. Over 32% of corporate web sites today have Acrobat PDF-enabling their web sites. Why we will never know (?), as it isn't an HTML standard but was originally developed to facilitate printing of documents. And, it doesn't work well on many web sites, especially for those coming in with slow connections or when you are trying to view more than a couple of pages.

5. Surprise, surprise! Splash pages are still increasing in popularity, with an estimated 18% of web sites today incorporating them. Let's be clear: we think they are really lame (to use a technical marketing term). They slow down the user experience and cause many people to click away from a web site in annoyance with no bookmark and no return visit.

6. Opt-in e-mail continues to grow in popularity and to reflect the web's ability to handle rich media content. The HTML format is rapidly becoming standard in many e-mail campaigns and we are starting to see streaming audio and video plug in components (running in the background) and even integrated voice mail, as just announced last month by YesMail. But, watch those conversion rates fall; opt-in e-mail is in danger of becoming this year's banner advertising.

7. Newsletters have become mainstream ways to communicate with customers, generate revenue via ad inserts and drive a brand into the marketplace. Now there are ASP (application service provider) solutions being brought to market by Microsoft and many others than enable a small or large company to manage all aspects of newsletter marketing via a browser.

8. No secret the web is maturing. There's been a media firestorm the last few weeks about how only four companies (AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo and Napster) commanded approximately 50% of the overall traffic on the web. Most disturbing to those of us not with the aforementioned companies (Sidebar: am sure Steve Case and Bob Pittman are very happy), eleven companies commanded this percentage about a year ago.

9. Traditional media is experiencing the same market downturn that interactive ad agencies have been getting. Look at your recent Newsweek, Der Stern, Time, Business 2.0, Upside, Fast Company, or Wired and you'll see they would do Jenny Craig proud - they've lost a lot of ad weight.

10. Popups, popovers, popunders - whatever the term you want to use for those annoying interstitial types of ads are still continuing to be deployed on more and more web sites. We think they are just bad marketing and are being used by sites or companies that can't figure out how to generate revenue with content (see #1) or, dare we say, real services!

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies.

Lee@intelective.com

____________________

Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!

Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!

Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!

Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!

Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!

---

What is Guerrilla Marketing?

The history of these battles is the history of guerrilla warfare.There are similar stories in business.One example is that of the "Marlboro Man". Before the Marlboro Man,... Read More

Writing Your Own Entrepreneur Success Story

The world of entrepreneurship is a difficult one full of ups and downs. In order to rise about your struggles and survive amidst the headaches and heartaches,... Read More

The 10 Commandments of Guerrilla Marketing Design

Guerrilla Marketing Design is more an attitude than a system of do's and don'ts. It's an attitude that emphasizes the efficient and memorable delivery of information.-First Commandment:... Read More

Marketing on the Internet: Legal Rules of the Road

The Internet is connecting advertisers and marketers to customers from Boston to Bali. If you're thinking about advertising on the Internet, remember that many of the same... Read More

4 Ways In Which You Can Achieve Critical Mass

Critical Mass Website Promotion is the elite goal rarely attained by website marketers in any industry. Reaching critical mass and getting targeted website traffic on autopilot (meaning... Read More

How Do You Make Gold Online Without A Database?

That is a great question!We all know by now that the long term success for having an online business comes from building and maintaining a database, and... Read More

New Form of Click Fraud Discovered

If you use PPC advertising and are in a highly competitive market, you can't afford not to read this.You already know that if you're adventurous enough to... Read More

Why No Online Marketing is a Failure (Its Only a Test!)

Just yesterday a colleague of mine, whom I'll call "Sandy," asked my advice about marketing her new information product online. She saw some of my banner ads... Read More

How To Make Make Money From a Website

I've had numerous conversations with web entrepreneurs about this topic and many of them agree that the revenue models for web business are often poorly thought out... Read More

Golf Pros Jet to be Sold early 2006 -- Market NOW to Make Large Deposit

Marketing gurus travel all over...Malaysia, London, San Francisco ..so make plans to go along on your jet in '06.Here's how to market/create a large downpayment...in the next... Read More

Book Yourself Solid, 7 Keys To Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even If You Hate Marketing

If you haven't already heard the buzz, Michael Port is the guy to call when you're tired of thinking small! Michael Port & Associates LLC is the... Read More

What The Home Shopping Networks Can Teach Us About Online Marketing

Who would have thought that a TV network dedicated to selling products on a cable network could become a success?Besides most people hate commercials? What would make... Read More

Personality Profiling Your Prospects for Internet Marketing, E Commerce, and Ebay Ads

Do you want me to tell you the truth or just what you want to hear?"In your opinion how much would you need to earn to be... Read More

Profiting From the Online Business: Tips to Boost Your Sales

Creating a lucrative online business is not an easy task. Ask any successful web entrepreneur, and chances are you will receive the same response. While some only... Read More

Does Your Internet Marketing Pull?

"Pull Marketing" has always been, and will continue to be the most effective internet marketing strategy at your disposal. Allow me to explain. Most marketing efforts can... Read More

How To Use the Multiplier Effect in Web Marketing

One of the most exciting things about doing business online is the Multiplier Effect. It's the principal factor behind some of the fortunes that have been made... Read More

Viral Marketing - Use This Free Reminder Service to Go Viral

The busier you are the harder it is to remember all those appointments. Now you can get an E-Mail everyday to remind you of all your important... Read More

Website Marketers Enemy No. 1

There comes a time in your efforts to market your website that you realise that it's no longer enough to tell your family and friends to visit... Read More

Online Business Success: Its All Within Your Grasp

Despite any failures or slow starts you may be experiencing or rebounding from right now, don't focus too much on the people you listened to who may... Read More

A World Outside The US

With the exception of myself and a small handful of very remote and isolated journalists, no-one today bothers writing about the growth of the web. It's old... Read More

Resources For Staying Current of IT Advancements For Online Business Owners

The internet and associated technology changes at a relatively fast pace. For anyone working in fields that make extensive use of IT technology, it is crucial to... Read More

Viral Marketing: Is Your Website Infected?

Viral?Viruses?Infections?not pleasant subjects for most situations. Unless you're discussing Viral Marketing! Viral marketing techniques can help you create huge increases in both targeted traffic and customers for... Read More

Dumb Money And Smart Money

One of my goals online is to give you the total picture and tell you everything you need to succeed in your own Internet Marketing Business.This internet... Read More

Make Your Real Estate Website Visible!

So, you've created a Website to highlight your realty services and listings. Now all you have to do is wait for the customers to roll in --... Read More

You Attract Who You Are On The Internet!

Being online is not only about getting your piece of pie, it's also about what kind of pie you are getting. Your company is often being measured... Read More

Internet Marketing Success is a Cumulative Effect

Being successful at Internet marketing does require doing the right things, like search engine optimization and targeted online promotion. But assuming you are already doing these things,... Read More